City of Bellingham Municipal Code

17.90.060 - REVIEW OF CHANGES TO REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

A. Review Required. No person shall construct any new building or structure, or reconstruct, alter, restore, remodel, repair, move, or demolish any existing building, structure, or object on any property individually listed on the City of Bellingham’s register of Historic Places or listed on the Register as a contributing property to a historic district without receipt of a Certificate of Alteration, or in the case of demolition, a Certificate of Demolition, as a result of the review in subsection C below. The review shall apply to all exterior features of the property and those interior features which the Commission has designated as historic features. If the interior historic features of a property listed on the Register prior to the date of this ordinance have not been designated, the Commission shall identify those features prior to the Commission’s or Commission’s staff’s review of the application or compliance with this section.

B. Exemptions. The following activities do not require a Certificate of Alteration:

1. Ordinary repairs and maintenance as defined in BMC 17.90.030.

2. Emergency repairs as defined in BMC 17.90.030; or

3. Work to the interior features of the property which the Commission has not designated as historic features.

C. Review Process.

1. The Director of the Planning and Community Development Department or his designee shall report any application for a permit to work on a designated register property to the Commission. If the activity is not exempt from review, the Commission or professional staff shall notify the applicant of the review requirements. The Planning and Community Development Department shall not issue any such permit until it receives a Certificate of Alteration or Demolition.

2. The owner or his/her agent (architect, contractor, lessee, etc.) shall apply to the Commission for a review of proposed changes to a register property and request a Certificate of Alteration or, in the case o demolition, a Certificate of Demolition. Applicants shall follow one of the two review processes below:

a. Administrative review by the Commission staff. A Certificate of Alteration may be issued by Commission staff using the Type I process in BMC 21.10.100 for repairs and replacements-in-kind that are listed below:

i. Repairs (other than ordinary repair and maintenance) using the same materials and design as currently exist;

ii. Re-roofing using the same type and color of material;

iii. Replacement of sidewalks and driveways using the same type and color of materials;

iv. Replacement of foundations or major portions thereof, using the same type and color of materials;

v. Repair or replacement of utility systems; and

vi. Structural or seismic upgrades which do not alter or affect a significant historic feature.

Appeals of the Commission staff’s decision shall be to the Commission and not the Hearing Examiner.

b. Review by the Commission. All applications which do not qualify for administrative review by Commission staff shall be reviewed by the Commission using the Type VII review process in BMC 21.10.160. The Commission shall issue written findings and a decision based on the criteria in BMC 17.90.060(D) or (E).

c. An owner of a property may request that his/her application for a Certificate of Alteration be consolidated with his/her application for listing the property on the Historic Register. In such cases, both applications shall follow the Type VII review process in BMC 21.10.160.

1. A Certificate of Demolition is required before the Planning and Community Development Department may issue a permit to allow whole or partial demolition of a designated register property. The owner or his/her agent shall apply to the Commission for a review of the proposed demolition and request a Certificate of Demolition.

2. The applicant shall prepare a report for the Commission analyzing the following alternatives (listed in descending order of preference) explaining why each alternative is or is not feasible:

a. Redesigning the project to avoid any impact to the historical structure or its setting;

b. Incorporating the structure into the overall design of the project;

c. Converting the structure into another use (adaptive use);

d. Selling the structure at no more than fair market value to an owner who will maintain the historic structure;

e. Relocating the structure on the property;

f. Relocating the structure to another property;

g. Salvaging from the structure historically significant architectural features and building materials; and

h. Documenting the structure as a whole and its individual architectural features in photographs, drawings, and/or text. Such documentation shall be submitted to, and archived by, the Planning and Community Development Department.

3. If the Commission finds that there is no feasible alternative to demolition, the Commission shall issue a Certificate of Demolition. The Commission may attach conditions to the Certificate to mitigate the loss of the historic property. The Certificate and any conditions shall become conditions of approval of the demolition permit issued. After the property is demolished, the Commission shall initiate removal of the property from the Register.